Increase in Muslim students at France's Catholic schools

[DIGEST] - With the number of Muslim students rising in private schools, teachers and experts have produced “Muslims in Catholic School,” a guide on good conduct and theoretical tools for teachers. They were prepared by the General Secretariat of Catholic Education (SGEC) and the Department for Relations with Islam of the Conference of Bishops.

Parents have requested waivers for sport and athletic activity citing medical motives in one Catholic school where a group of students in their final year of study refuses to go swimming during Ramadan on the pretext that they are likely to swallow water. As such activities are necessary requirements for the baccalaureate, the matter evokes feelings of malaise for teachers.

Another Catholic school welcomes more than 200 students, 70 percent of whom are Muslim. After a crib was installed in the school lobby during Advent, a Muslim parent demanded its removal, saying “a Muslim cannot hear that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Catholic schools don't always know what attitude to adopt towards Islam, particularly given that the number of Muslim students has increased steadily over the years. In some schools – especially in Villeurbanne (Rhône), Marseille and Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines) they have even become the majority religion.

The law has permitted Muslims to attend Catholic schools since 1959, because no Catholic institution under contract can refuse a student on the basis of religion. Pierre Robitaille, the leader of the working group on "Muslims in Catholic school" for SGEC, added that "They also believe that at least we talk about God to young people in this type of establishment. Others see a good level of education for their children too."

Of Figaro Awards 2010’s top fifty colleges, 80 percent are private schools – whereas they only represent 20 percent of all schools. But private schools represent a means of bypassing the 2004 law on religious signs at school, as it applies only to public schools.

In the guidebook there are 16 fact sheets available to teachers to help them better understand Islam and its mechanisms, including "Islamic Basic Vocabulary," "Festivals and Events in Islam," "The Place of Traditional Women in Muslim society, and "The Islamic veil." The report also addresses 14 concrete situations already encountered in schools and offers ideas on "thought and action."

The challenge of Catholic education is to remain open to all without denying its own principles.

"The faith must express itself, but it does not seek to proselytize as such,” Robitaille said, also cautioning that teachers must keep certain situations from becoming unmanageable.

That possibility is illustrated by the gesture of a headmistress who offered Muslim students a room in which to pray and to help them avoid being caught in rain in the school courtyard. The students have turned it into a prayer room and invite other people who have nothing to do with the school to pray with them. Since then the Director has been unable to use this space for other activities.

"The idea is that students of other faiths practice their religion outside of school, with exemptions for boarding schools. You can provide function rooms for those types of schools, but they should not turn into areas dedicated to prayer,” said the moderator of the working group on "Muslim school." “We have a church mission to fulfill. We are not a self-sevice religion center!"